Head of Secondary School

Term 4 Welcome

I hope all Redlands families were able to spend some quality family time over the recent school holidays and that the students had a refreshing and relaxing break. I am sure for many of them (and you), it is hard to believe that we are commencing our final term of the school year and are on the home stretch for 2018. Before you know it, the summer holidays will be upon us. Therefore, it is important that students quickly focus and prepare for the term ahead so that each of them can get the most out of the final two months of the school year.

Class of 2018

While we officially bid a fond farewell to the Class of 2018 at the end of last term, it was wonderful to see many of them (on some days up to fifty students) using our HSC and IB Examination extra support programs at School to study in the Library or to complete practice examinations over the recent holidays in preparation for their upcoming final examinations. We wish the students all the best with the commencement of the HSC Examinations on today and the IB Examinations at the beginning of Week 3.

As mentioned in my letter to parents in the holidays, it is important to note that we at Redlands are very proud to be one of a handful of schools in Sydney to offer both the Higher School Certificate (HSC) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma for our senior students and are also very proud of the successful results our students achieve in both examinations. With this in mind, it is important to remember that publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald, which offer comparison tables of schools’ results in mid-December, are only comparing HSC results and do not take into consideration the IB results which are not known until early January. Redlands prides itself on its non-selective enrolment policy and while the ATAR is one measurement of a student’s success at school, we take equal pride in the myriad of other successes and contributions our students achieve whether they be academic, co-curricular, pastoral, social, or through service and leadership initiatives. It is wonderful to see so many students continue to achieve their own personal bests and to “Let Their Light Shine” both at Redlands and beyond.

Growth Mindsets

I thought I would share with you an excerpt from my opening speech to students at this week’s assembly where I discussed the power and importance of developing a growth mindset.

“I know many of you have heard about growth mindsets vs fixed mindsets in Tutor Groups or Year Meetings over the last few years. And as you head into Term 4, with Yearly Examinations, summer sports fixtures and final concerts, I believe it is a good time to remind you of the value of having a growth mindset.

So, to illustrate the difference between a fixed and growth mindset, I thought I would share a little story with you.

There were two frogs living on a dairy farm, hopping happily all day long, chasing bugs. One day, they ventured into the barn and hopped on top of a large metal vat of fresh milk. One of the frogs, in trying to catch a bug, slipped from the edge and fell into the vat of milk. Despite all of his attempts to climb up the steep sides of the metal vat, he could not get out. The other frog, who was still sitting on the edge of the vat (and who had a fixed mindset) was crestfallen. He yelled down to his frog friend, “Oh no! There is no way out. I cannot do anything to save you. I am so sorry,” and sadly hopped out of the barn.

However, the frog who was in the vat of milk (and who fortunately had the growth mindset) decided not to give up. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, he decided to kick and swim as long as his little froggy legs would allow him.

In the morning, when the dairy farmer came into the barn, he was shocked to see that the vat of milk he had left the night before had become a vat of butter overnight, with a little green frog sitting on top of the butter, alive, but exhausted.

Now, looking past the impossibility of a frog being able to churn milk into butter, I hope this little tale does illustrate to you the power of having a growth mindset.

So, over the next few months, I encourage you to, instead of approaching things with a fixed mindset, to try and have a growth mindset.

Instead of avoiding challenges, because they make you feel like you are not talented or smart or they are just too hard, embrace challenges because they will allow you to stretch yourself and truly grow and learn.

Instead of seeing failures, setbacks and disappointments as permanent definitions of your abilities, see them as temporary obstacles to overcome.

Instead of seeing your successes as merely a result of your natural talents, see them as a result of your hard work and effort.

And learn the power of the word “yet”. For every fixed mindset phrase such as:

I can’t do this…
I’m not good at this…
I don’t know…
It doesn’t make sense…
This doesn’t work…
And I don’t get it…

Add the word “yet” to the end of each phrase to turn it into a growth mindset:

I can’t do this… yet
I’m not good at this… yet
I don’t know… yet
It doesn’t make sense… yet
This doesn’t work… yet
And I don’t get it… yet

Having this growth mindset approach will help you to have an open mind in preparation for the successes and challenges that lie ahead of you for the rest of this year and beyond.

In Memoriam

You would have received a letter from the School over the weekend notifying you of the sad news of the passing of our Dean of Early Childhood, Miss Belinda Oxley, after her battle with cancer. Miss Oxley was an inspirational teacher who touched the lives of so many students over her 23 year career at Redlands. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to her family and the staff and students of Early Childhood and the Junior School who are most affected by her passing. I know a number of Secondary School students fondly remember Miss Oxley; please encourage any students who might be distressed by this news to speak to their Tutor, Year Advisor, Counselor or other staff member if they need any support.

Miss Oxley’s funeral will be held at Macquarie Park Northern Cemetery, Delhi Rd and Plassey Rd, Macquarie Park in the Camellia Room on Monday 22 October at 10.30am. If you would like to send flowers, the family have suggested that a donation be made in honor of Belinda to the Cancer Council, in place of flower arrangements.

e-Safety Forum

School Student Transport Information from Transport for NSW

School student applications for 2019 open from Monday, 15 October 2018. Students progressing to Yr 3 and Yr 7 do not need to re-apply if they:

are continuing at the same school
are residing at the same address
have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition which is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails

Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2018 to ensure student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card is not cancelled. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2018, the system will automatically cancel a card and a new one will need to be issued.

Students in the Opal network applying for a SSTS or Term Bus Pass entitlement for the first time will receive their card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out during December 2018 and January 2019.

Students residing in Rural and Regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the commencement of the new school year from their nominated operator. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes. Students should check with their operator for more information.

If school administrators require access to the school portal to endorse student applications, please request an account at https://appln.transport.nsw.gov.au/portal/requests/account/school

For further information visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts

Mr Sean Corcoran
Head of Secondary School
scorcoran@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9870